We said goodbye to our loving companion Howard this weekend, our devoted greyhound. He has been a part of our family for almost as long as Jay and I have been a family. We met him eight years ago after his racing days were over and I still remember falling in love with him that afternoon. We were so excited that we just stared at

Typically I go a million miles an hour trying to balance roughly 10 things at once while standing on my head blindfolded. I am happy to report, however, that my summer break from school and work has led me to discover the off button. I am still doing little projects – writing, some book events, lots of volunteering – but I am for the most

Today I wrapped up the “Chick Condo”. It’s a roughly 4′ long x 2′ wide wooden box I have attached to the opposite end of the big girl’s hen house. There is a small doorway opening to the run, so the new chicks and the older girls can get know each other. When the chicks grow up into the big house, I can store my

It was a perfect day in Portland today. The sun was shining all day and the it was actually shorts and T-shirt weather. This morning I started in on renovating the chicken coop, which meant the girls were allowed to free-range for the day. My chickens don’t lay eggs until late in the day, so a good part of late morning and early afternoon was

It seems like the chickens just sprouted overnight. Here is an updated profile on each of the girls (hopefully) and my crazy idea to follow these pictures: Chick #1 Breed: Araucana Coloring: Grey/White Egg Color: Blue-Green Additional: She’s a “floater”, neither the top nor bottom of the pecking order. She is still the cutest. Chick #2 Breed: Rhode Island Red Coloring: Reddish Brown Egg Color:

The baby chicks are babies no more! The baby fuzz is being replaced with real feathers and they have just grown so much in only a couple weeks. I caught one of the little girls standing on top of the waterer this morning, to the dismay of her sisters. They were squawking at her, trying to get her to come down. I think they were

We adopted our cat, Lionel, from the Oregon Humane Society a couple years ago. OHS is a wonderful organization with some of the highest adoption rates in the country and our cat has been a wonderful addition to our home. I have never had a cat and a garden before though, and sometimes that combination can prove frustrating. Although he spends most of his time

It’s time to introduce the baby chicks to our viewing audience. I haven’t decided on any names, but then I am not really sure I should. I am already starting to get attached to these young chicks I am planning on adopting out, so naming them probably isn’t a great idea. But here they are one at a time: Chick #1 Breed: Araucana Gender: Straight

About a year ago, my sister Anne told me she wanted to get chickens. We live in a city. A small one, but a city none the less. I believe I promptly replied by telling her she was nuts. I’m not sure how long it took me for that thought to later sink in and start eating away at me. I realized I wanted chickens

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Hello homesteader! I'm Renee Wilkinson and this is where I've chronicled my adventures in homesteading since 2007. Here you will find 1,000+posts on modern homestead projects, edible landscape design and the occasional life update. Read More…